Daybreak
by kellentia
Summary: 13 years after BD, the Cullens have moved to a small obscure town in Canada near Calgary to start a new life. However, is there really a 'happily ever after' forever? See how the Cullens face the storm that tries to tear them apart.....
1. Preface

DAYBREAK

PREFACE

What would it be, if your worst fears were realized? What if it really came down to that, my life and my love, being snatched from me? My family, torn and broken; whatever we held on to, to just shatter into tiny unmendable pieces of fragile glass. I had assumed that fairytales do exist, for me at least, with vampires, werewolves and other mythological characters in my world. But no. This was the end of the dream, and the beginning of a nightmare.


	2. Prologue

DAYBREAK

Prologue: Darkest Fears

_The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly_.

_~ John 10:10_

It was one of the nights where Edward and I were lying on my bed, enjoying the quiet. I suddenly sighed.

"What are you thinking about? No questions?" He teased while twirling a strand of my hair.

I grimaced, for the gazillionth time, thankful that he couldn't hear my thoughts.

"Nothing," I muttered, trying to wave it off, but as usual, he wouldn't relent.

"Out with it." He sighed. "I can't seem to get used to not being able to hear your thoughts. Trust me, it is terribly frustrating."

"Well, do you believe in fairy tales?" I suddenly blurted out, unable to contain it any longer. To my utmost horror, Edward started laughing. Heartily.

"Bella, Bella, you never ceased to surprise me with your questions." He said, clearly amused. "So what is it with fairy tales?"

I turned my head, glaring right into his golden eyes. He lifted his cold hard hand, and cupped my burning cheeks. "Sorry love, I didn't mean to laugh." He murmured softly, caressing my face gently.

"Are there really happily ever afters? What if, what if you grow tired of me one day? What if you meet another even more gorgeous vampire and fall in love with her? Or what if something happens to split up our family? Will we be like this, stay like this, forever??? Is it even possible?"

"Well, one thing I can assure you is that, I will never grow tired of you. I have met many people, in my 110 years. Many women, beautiful women, but trust me, none has matched up to you." Edward said, squeezing my hand. "As for my family, we move. There will be various additions, and some may leave, but the bond is always there. We will always be together, that much Carlise and Esme has forged between us." He smiled, the same crooked smile that I loved. "Don't worry too much, Bella. One thing I've learnt over the past 110 years is that, enjoy the present. Don't worry about what you don't know. Remember, Alice will tell us what happen."

I nodded, slightly comforted. However, there was this strange uneasy feeling inside that something was going to happen, and was going to change our future drastically.


	3. Chapter 1: Introduction

DAYBREAK

Book I: Renesmee Cullen

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

_My name is Renesmee, and I'm…..well, my age is technically a bit hard to define. I am half human and half vampire, you see. So although I look about 18, I am only actually 13 years old. Life is interesting when it evolves around a bunch of playful werewolves and vampires. Fights and arguments always happen, but their always in good jest. However, recently we just moved up north, to Canada actually. My parents wanted me to start school, and obviously I couldn't go to Fork's high school. Well, perhaps it would be possible, but it'll be pushing it. The Volturi have been watching us rather closely. The werewolves couldn't come with us – they had to remain in La Push. I do miss them, but none as much as Jacob. _

_Jacob: my wonderful "older brother". I have guessed for a long time that he was supposed to be something more, but he never told me. Until I confronted him just a year ago. You can't expect to hide such things from a girl who is intellectually in her late teens. When he learnt about the move, to my complete horror, he announced to the family that he wouldn't be following us. I was flabbergasted. So much about being inseparable huh. Well his logic and rationale was that, firstly, he wanted me to have the freedom of choice. To him, for the past 13 years of my life, he had always been around me, hence I never had the chance to meet and interact with other….people…(I guess that was what he meant). Secondly, he reasoned that since we're going to be together for eternity, it would be good for me to spend my last childhood years with my parents and have good bonding time with them. Thirdly, for whatever obscure stupid logic his using, he claims that separation will be good for us. Pah. Initially I was furious, but I guess it does make sense, a bit. Well Daddy was really impressed with him after that. Mom thought it was so sweet that. I bet she would have cried if she could. _

_So here I am now, full of mixed feelings. I love my parents, and yet, sometimes I feel so miserable being apart from Jake that I feel that I could die. Him and his stupid logic. Look at what maturity does to a person. My mom used to say he was extremely hotheaded when he was younger….._

"Nessie!"

_Did I tell you about my nickname? How I share the same name as the loch ness monster in Scotland, with much thanks to my dear Jacob. _

"Nessie! Are you dressed! Let me see what you're wearing to school!"

_Within seconds, the door to my room flew open and my lovely petite Aunt Alice bounded in happily. _

_This is my Aunt Alice. She's amazing, a crazy shopper and a vampire psychic. I love her to bits but sometimes she does scare me a little with her enthusiasm. _

"Yes Aunt Alice, is everyone about to go?" I looked up from my journal writing.

"Soon! Lets see what you've got…….oh, you're writing!" Alice twirled and gracefully slipped my journal out from under my hand.

_I rolled my eyes. So much for privacy here in this house. Nothing can ever be kept private here, not with a psychic for an Aunt and a mind-reader for a Father. _

"I decided it would be an effective way of conveying my feelings during my teenage years. Its PRIVATE, Aunt Alice." I emphasized, glaring at her.

"Oh, sorry." Aunt Alice actually looked a bit guilty, and snapped the book shut. But it was almost immediately forgotten. "Your clothes! You are going to wear….."

I shan't bored you with the details, but it surfaces to say that I was dressed and ready to go in 2 minutes and went downstairs to join the rest of my family.

"First day again. Joy!" Uncle Emmett said with fake enthusiasm. Aunt Rosalie just rolled her eyes and walked towards her convertible. I grinned, knowing full well what's going to happen. Aunt Rosalie is beautiful, and by that I mean super-model beautiful. Maybe I should make it super super model beautiful. She's going to be the object of much attention in this new school, at least for the initial few days before Uncle Emmett makes it known that she's his. Not that he won't be facing any of such challenges of his own.

"Its your very first day, Nessie," A familiar velvety voice which I loved so much rang from behind me.

"Daddy!" I exclaimed, and rushed into his arms.

My Daddy, my protector. A lot of people…vampires rather, have commented that I've become some sort of a Daddy's little girl. Whatever that means. I love my Daddy. And I can never get over how insanely beautiful and gorgeous he is, both inside and outside, as well as how young he looked. Honestly, if we were to go out, people would think we were twins! Anyway I know he loves me so very much and would do ANYTHING for me. So sometimes, I am glad that I can spend these few years with him, before I get married and spend all my time with Jacob.

"So how are you feeling?" He asked me. I could actually sense his lips curl into a smile as he heard my thoughts about him.

"A bit nervous I guess, but generally quite excited. I've never interacted with so many humans together. I hope I won't screw up or something…" Suddenly, the thought of forgetting myself and accidently "showing" someone what I thought, or underestimating my abilities and accidently hurt someone popped into my mind. I bit my lip.

"Nonsense, you will be fine." Dad assured me with a kiss. "In any case, we will all be there to help if anything goes wrong."

I nodded.

"And yes Nessie, other than that we will try to leave you to make your own friends," He added with a wink.

"And gain as much _human experiences_ as you can, right Edward?" my mom said rather meaningfully, coming down the stairs. I think its supposed to be an inside joke, between the two of them.

Mom is…was Isabella Swan. My parents have the most amazing love story. She used to be a human, and after she fell in love with my dad and found out he was a vampire, she decided to become a vampire too so that they can be together forever.

"Bella! You look absolutely amazing!" My dad let out a breath as he looked at her.

_Did I mention that my parents often behave as two love-struck teenagers? One would think that after 15 years of marriage they would sober down a bit. _

_Now, who else have I missed out? _I spun round and stuck my head into the kitchen, and saw Uncle Jasper talking to Grandma Esme. "Uncle Jazz?"

He turned and smiled, "I'm coming, Ness."

_Uncle Jasper is one of the coolest person around. He can control and manipulate emotions!! Many times, especially in the past, when I had nightmares, he was the one who was able to calm me down effectively. On the flip side of the coin, you really wouldn't want to get into his bad books. The fears he can make you feel are real, very real indeed….._

"Nessie dear, can you come over here for a while?" Grandma Esme called me.

_This is my darling grandma, wife of superhuman (literally!) doctor Carlise Cullen. They're both such caring and awesome people, and much of my upbringing is from them. _

"Yes grandma?"

She handed to me the most beautiful and sparkling charm bracelet I've ever seen. "This is from Carlise and me, a present to commemorate the start of your school life." She smiled at me.

"Wow!" I honestly felt like the luckiest person in the world, with so many people loving and doting on me. "Thanks Grandma!" I hugged her tightly.

"You're welcome! Now hurry off to school. You don't want to be late, do you?" She said, giving me a little push towards the door.

I hurried through the front door and hopped into my Dad's Volvo. It feels odd, going to school with your parents, and having them as classmates even…..

So, welcome to my life, and my wonderful loving perfect special family.

*********************************

Completed January 20, 2009

©Kellentia


	4. Chapter 2: School

DAYBREAK

Book I: Renesmee Cullen

CHAPTER 2

School

I have always enjoyed stories from my dad's school days, and often tried to visualize what it had actually looked like. But what I had imagined did not prepare me for the "welcome" my family was to receive from the other human students. People just stopped to stare, dumbfounded expressions evident on their faces as they ogled at us. Yes, ogled. Aunt Rosalie just walked on haughtily, with Uncle Emmett keeping a firm hand on her waist. Aunt Alice danced along, completely ignoring the onlookers, and held Uncle Jasper's hand tightly. Mom for once looked a bit uncomfortable, with all the attention I supposed, but she still held my hand tightly and kept me close to her. Dad just walked nonchantly behind us, assuming his impassive face.

We went to the office and quickly got our time tables for the term. Dad was in my first class, English.

"Here we go again," I heard my dad mutter dryly. "Come on Nessie, lets go to class."

Now, class was an interesting experience. For once, I never heard so much noise all at one place before. Continuous, annoying, buzzing noise coming from the chatter of the other students. "Is it always so noisy?" I asked my dad quietly as we stepped into class.

"Trust me, its even worse when you hear them up here." He said, as he tapped his head.

Honestly, this was slowly beginning to freak me out a little. I felt like an animal in the zoo as people turned to stare at me and dad. I suddenly felt my cheeks turn hot, and to my horror, I realized I was blushing! Dad only chuckled softly as he led me to two empty seats.

Before I could even settle down in my seat, a girl in front of me turned and gave a friendly smile. "Hi! You must be new. I'm Sarah, and you are??"

This girl was so warm and her smile felt so genuine that I couldn't help but smile back. "I'm Renesmee Cullen, but you can call me Nessie. And this is my brother, Edward." I gestured to him. "We're twins." I added, in case she didn't make the connection.

"So where are you guys from??" She asked, after nodding politely to my brother.

"Alaska. Our dad just got posted to the hospital here, so we moved together with him." I replied, but before I could say more, the class quieted as our English teacher walked in. I suddenly felt my dad stiffen and I looked up, only to meet a pair of violet eyes glaring daggers at both me and my dad. I froze. That was not a human. That was another vampire, and he recognized us!

"That's Mr Brisco, our English teacher. His horrid!" Sarah muttered to me before turning back to her seat.

The tension broke abruptly as Mr Brisco looked away and walked to his desk. It was as if the glaring session did not happen. It was soon apparent that Sarah's view of him didn't really hold among most of the girl population of the class. There were lots of "Mr Brisco! We missed you over the holidays! We made these for you," and handed him jars of cookies, chocolates, even flowers! Items that I soon guessed ended up in the trash.

He was extremely handsome….as with all our kind. And that is pretty much the good I can say about him. His eyes were so cold, so extremely cold. And he spoke in a frosty unaffective voice. His comments to the students were at best very curt, and at worst, downright degrading. Sarah was right in saying that he is horrid.

But the thing that was mostly on my mind the entire time, and I'm sure it was in Dad's as well, was: What on earth was he doing here, teaching in a _human_ school, when he obviously fed on humans?

Class ended soon enough. He completely ignored us throughout.

"What's your next class Nessie?" Sarah turned around again, when the bell rang.

I peered at my time table. "Gym." I said aloud.

"My next class is bio. You sure you'll be ok?" Dad asked.

"Don't worry Edward, I'll take care of your sister." Sarah smiled cheerfully and linked her arms with me. Why do I get the funny feeling that she reminds me awfully of someone?

Edward smiled at her, "Thanks. I know she'll be safe with you." He said, and left for his next class. Great, now I'm really on my own.

The first half of the day passed in a flash, and before I knew it, Sarah was bringing me towards the cafeteria. "You might consider bringing your own lunch sometime. The food here sucks." She said, making a face. I laughed, for her face was so comical. I was beginning to like Sarah very much. I felt so much at ease with her although I hardly knew her!

"Do you want to sit with me and my friends, or your brother?" She asked, as she noticed me looking at my brother, who was sitting with the rest of my family.

"I could sit with you." I decided quickly, after all, I was here to interact with humans for my _human experiences_.

"Great! Lets get our trays and I'll introduce you to the rest of the gang." Sarah chirped and skipped towards the food.

"Alright, Nessie, this is Laura, Caleb, and Jackson but we call him JX. Everyone, this is Nessie." Sarah introduced when we were finally at the table.

"So Sarah's bringing in another lost sheep!" The person called JX commented.

Sarah glared and swatted at him. "She's NEW." She replied rather defensively.

"So Nessie, where are you from?" Caleb asked. He wasn't particularly good looking, with his hair neatly combed, thick glasses and a rather less than perfect complexion. But he seemed nice enough.

Again I repeated the story when suddenly, I breathed in a whiff of the sweetest and most compelling aroma I've ever smelled in my entire life. My eyes fluttered as I drowsily turned towards the direction of the scent. Sarah followed my gaze. "Oh, that's Peter Worthington, the richest and most good looking guy on campus. But perhaps not the nicest guy around. His currently dating Bobbi Ellis. She's the most popular girl…."

Sarah's voice droned on and on, but there was now nothing more important than the blood. It was prey, and I was predator. It was drawing me closer, the sweetness and intoxicating quality of that blood…..I slowly stood up, planning my attack, when suddenly, I felt a pair of freezing cold hands gently forced me back into my seat.

"Nessie?" Dad called me softly.

Then I jerked back into reality. _School. Sarah. Humans. Friends. Oh right. Pretend. Daddy._ I blinked. _Oh my goodness, I nearly lost control! I..I…I…_

I suddenly panicked as I fought to keep my sanity while fighting off the waves of instinct to rush over the drain Peter's blood. Almostly immediately, I felt waves of calm infiltrate my being. "Uncle Jasper!" I muttered thankfully.

"Nessie? Are you ok?" Edward asked again, and I looked up. I finally noticed that my new friends were looking at me weirdly. "Sorry!" I attempted to smile, "Its just that…I get these weird episodes at times when I just loose concentration and start to loose touch with reality..…." _Oh my gosh, I was horrified at my explanation. What if they made me out to be some sort of a mental patient and avoided me from now on. Then I won't have any friends……_

"Oh, don't worry. Welcome to the club. We all do weird things at some point or another." JX said reassuringly. The rest nodded eagerly. Only Laura seemed interested in playing with her food and oblivious to whatever was happening.

"It is a rather private thing, so we would really appreciate it if this is kept among yurselves." My dad added.

"Of course!" Sarah chirped.

I began to breathe evenly. _Yes, I can do this_. I muttered silently in my head over and over again as I struggled to gain control again. I heard dad pull a chair over and sat with us, all the time keeping one hand on mine.

"I'm Edward Cullen, and I'm her twin brother," Edward introduced himself, to take attention off me I guess. "I'm older by 5 minutes." He smirked as he played his part to life.

"Wow we've hardly had twins around. And definitely not as good looking as you guys." JX said straightforwardly. "I'm JX, born and bred in oh so cold Calgary. Caleb just shifted here from sunny California a year ago. Laura also just recently came from New York."

They dribbled into some mindless chatter, and I almost, ALMOST had it under control when suddenly, HE came right to our table. His scent was overwhelming, and never did I struggle so desperately against the burning in my throat. Usually, I never had much difficulty resisting human blood, and I thought it was because I was half human. But now, this person's blood, was crying out to me. I felt my dad's grip on me tighten. I was so glad he was there to prevent me from doing anything stupid.

"Hi Laura, here's the book you lent me a week ago." The stupid irritating voice which I knew definitely belonged to HIM spoke out. I looked down, hoping he'll ignore me and move on.

"Thanks Peter! Did you enjoy it?"

Was that Laura's voice? It sounded so bright and cheerful, yet to me she looked like the dullest and quietest person on earth, if I may be so frank.

"Yeahhh…….say, whose your new friend over here?" The voice sounded again. _Shit, he noticed me. _

"She's Nessie, Nessie Cullen." Laura replied, a bit softer.

Oh no, it wouldn't do to completely ignore him. I would have to look up and talk to him.

I looked at him straight in the eye. He was good looking for a human, no doubt. But things that most girls probably fail to notice, such as the cruel twist of his lips, harsh glint in his eyes, and the smile that did not quite reach up to his eyes told me at once that he was probably one of the most selfish and arrogant person around, and for a while, I pitied Bobbi Ellis who was dating him, whoever she was.

"Please to meet you Nessie, I am Peter Worthington. My dad's the owner of Worthington Enterprises." He said and stuck out his hand.

_Worthington Enterprises? Was I supposed to know that name? And I looked at his hand in terror. No way can I touched that hand with the pulsating blood beneath and not rip it apart, devouring that amazing blood. As much as I'm starting to dislike him, it wouldn't do to kill him just like that. I was terrified, because my hand was already trying to slowly inch forward_.

Just at that moment, my dad's cellphone rang. How timely.

"Ok Nessie, home emergency, we have to leave." Dad said, and gently dragged me towards the door. Already, I was getting reluctant to leave. My resolve was weakening. Mom and Dad will understand. Everyone will understand…..

"Nessie, we are going." Dad said, this time a little more firmly and swiftly maneuvered me out of the door using his immense strength.

The cold draft of air finally woke me up, erasing any trace of that intoxicating scent from my nostrils. The implications of what I had almost did suddenly overwhelmed me, and in horror, I struggled, broke free of my dad's arms, and ran. I ran and ran, wanting to get as far away from that horrible place as possible. Finally I stopped, because I couldn't go any further. My human limitations were catching up to me.

There I curled up, under a tree, panting and crying. What have I done? But before I knew it, a pair of cold arms wrapped around me and pulled me tight into a hug.

"Daddy" I whimpered, over and over again. Only here was I safe, in my Daddy's arms. Before long, exhausted, I drifted off to sleep.

***

"We are leaving." I faintly heard my dad say authoritatively as I slowly woke up from my sleep state. I opened my eyes and peered outside the window. It was dark.

_Leaving???_ I rushed downstairs, only to find my entirely family in conference.

Mom immediately rushed to me when she saw me walk into my room. "My poor darling!" and hugged me tightly.

It was there and then when I decided. I'm not going to run away. I have my family here, who loves me, they can see me through this.

"No, we're not leaving." I announced.

***

So who is Mr Brisco? Will he pose any danger?

What about Peter? He is Nessie's singer!

Stay tuned to find out....

Completed on January 20, 2009

©Kellentia


	5. Chapter 3: Encounters

Daybreak

Book I: Renesmee Cullen

Chapter 3 

Encounters

Dad turned to me with such an incredulously look on his face. "No I'm not crazy." I said, to appease all the horrified looks on everyone's faces. "Listen, I can't keep running away. What if I keep meeting such a person wherever we go. We can't just keep moving and moving. No, if Daddy can overcome it, I can. Only this time it won't be love that will keep me, but disgust."

"Do you know what that idiot boy was thinking??? He thought you reacted that way because you were _attracted _to him!" Dad was slowly raising his voice.

"I'm NOT!" I snorted.

"Let me put it another way. He wants to bed you!"

"He can't and he won't. Look Dad, you mom and everyone here will be there to protect me. I'll be fine!" I insisted. _With more practice at self control…._

"I heard that." Dad muttered. "Alice, can you look into the future and see the implications of us continuing to stay here?"

Aunt Alice's eyes went blank for a while. Then she bit her lip and apologized. "I'm sorry, it consists of too many spur-of-the-moment decisions. I can't tell right now what the outcome will be like. It can go either way, depending on what Nessie decides momentarily."

"Great. Just great." Dad threw his hands up into the air, exasperated.

"Calm down, Edward." Mom spoke up and walked to me. "Why don't you want to leave? Its only the first day! We could start afresh again else where."

"Its not like that Mom! What if it happens again? And I just made a new friend, Sarah. I like her a lot! I want to stay." I said stubbornly. _I guess the teenage side got the better of me. The more my parents wanted to leave, the more I wanted to rebel and stay_.

"Carlise!" Dad looked towards my grandfather pleadingly. "Its _la tua cantante_!"

Grandpa smiled. "Well, you did manage to control pretty well for your own _la tua cantante_…"

"But that was different! I was in love with her!" Dad protested.

_Oh boy. Now my dad sounded like a teenager._ I smirked.

"Look, why not we give Nessie a week. A week of probation. If she shows any sign of loosing control within this week, we'll pack and leave immediately." Uncle Jasper suddenly said aloud.

"That sounds like a good idea to me." I said brightly. "Please daddy…..anyway you can always tell when I'm going to loose control."

My dad was defeated and he knew it. "Fine." He muttered and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

"I'll go check on him." My mom said discreetly and left the room.

"Yes!" I shouted with glee, jumping up and down, before realizing that no one else was rejoicing with me. I stopped, and looked at them, confused.

"Nessie." Aunt Rosalie walked towards me. "I hope you know the seriousness of this situation. You cannot do anything to compromise our identities, if not the Volturi will be after us again."

"Don't worry, I can do it. I'll feed as much as possible before school, and I'll avoid him at all costs." I said bravely.

Aunt Rosalie just shook her head and walked out. Soon, the others followed suit and the room was emptied.

_Great, so they expect me to fail. Well, let Renesmee Cullen show them what she's made of. I will not fail! _

***

The days at school flitted by. Pretty soon, I realized that most girls weren't as nice or friendly as Sarah. Most girls were interested to know me because they wanted me to introduce them to my "handsome/gorgeous/hot brother", after seeing how "close" we were during the episode in the cafeteria on the first day.

Me and Sarah struck up a firm friendship. We usually sat with JX and the rest during break, but I wasn't particularly close to any of them. Only with Sarah. Peter hasn't approached me ever since then….not that there was a chance. Dad was with me most of the time, and when he couldn't, Uncle Jasper or Uncle Emmett would stick to me like a leech. Pun not intended. And, thankfully, I was getting used to his scent. Feeding (or rather, gorging) before each week started helped a lot, and perhaps I inherited my dad's genes for self control.

Mr Brisco never approached or talked to us. And we never saw him around after school. Dad said he couldn't find anything incriminating about him. All he thought about was about what he was to teach, and and occasional grumble about how stupid the human children were. So we decided to just leave him alone and forgot to mention him to Carlise.

It was one of those gloomy boring afternoons with math class. Completely bored, I raised my hand to get excused for the restroom. _At least that would help burn some time._ I thought wryly.

I was just walking round a corner when suddenly, someone bumped into me and tripped, sprawling all over the ground, books and all.

"Are you alright?" I asked, concerned, and bent down to help her up and gather the fallen books. To my surprise, it was Laura, and her eyes were red. It was obvious that she had been crying.

"Laura?" I asked, curious. I was never close to her. At least she never seemed friendly enough. I tried to strike a conversation with her a couple of times, but her answers were so monosyllabic that I soon gave up.

"Laura, are you ok?" I asked again, as she suddenly closed her eyes. "Don't faint on me! Look I'll get some help…" I was starting to panick. She seemed ill.

"No.." Her voice was quivering. She quickly took in a deep breath, as if calming herself down. "No, I'm fine. Leave me alone." With effort, she pulled herself free from my arms and attempted to walk away.

I quickly stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "No, you're not alright. You've been crying! You're an emotional wreck. Let me help you."

Without warning, tears started to stream down her face. Without thought, I quickly pulled her into a hug, trying to calm her heaving body as sobs rippled throughout her being.

"Daddy's leaving." She suddenly whimpered, so softly that if I had no special enhanced hearing, I would have missed it. "He's leaving. He doesn't want me…."

I froze, not comprehending. Coming from such a loving family, I couldn't understand. How could her father bear to leave her. At least I couldn't never imagine dad wanting to leave me.

"He thinks I'm fat, and ugly, and that my mom's an old hag. He hates me, because I'm not beautiful or smart enough." She whispered aloud, not talking to anyone in particular. "My heart hurts, it hurts so much. Help me!" And as if she was in pain, she clutched at my arms, with a grip so tight that it started to hurt a bit even for me. Poor girl, my heart went out to her. How awful it is, to be rejected by your very own father. I would probably just die.

I hugged her even tighter. "Don't cry….its ok." I just kept saying gently over her. Honestly, I had no idea how to help her at all. If only Uncle Jasper was here….

Suddenly, I felt a wave of calmness hit us. I glanced around and saw Uncle Jasper standing there, his eyes concerned.

"Are you girls all right?" He asked.

His calming waves helped so much. Already, I could feel Laura's breathing even out.

"Yeah…..I think so…." I said, as Laura quickly disentangled herself from me. She looked at the ground. "Thanks Renesmee. You're nice." She muttered and ran off.

"What was that about?" Uncle Jasper came up to me and asked. "There was so much hurt, sorrow and grief coming out of her. One of the rare times I've felt such a strong wave of sad emotion." He shook his head in sympathy.

I shook my head, not wanting to break a confidence. That poor girl needed some friends, and I was going to be that friend. Wasn't this supposed to be one of my human experiences????

***

After that incident, I felt some sort of fierce protectiveness towards her. Suddenly, I no longer regarded her unkempt and dull appearance. I had found out that there was a reason to it. And I wasn't Aunt Alice's niece for nothing. I begin to ask her out on our (Sarah and me)'s shopping trips, and she did start to look a bit brighter and happier. Sometimes Alice, or Mom would come along. And so the days of the school term passed. I was having fun, and I no longer missed Jacob as much as before.

***

It was the weekend, and for once, Grandpa was back early from the hospital so everyone was lazing about in the living room. "So how has school been?" He asked around.

Uncle Emmett chuckled and threw something at my dad. "Ask Edward. He has been the recipient of the most loving attention, much to the chagrin of our dear Bella."

I perked up. I had been so involved with my own friends that I hardly heard things about my parents. And they never told me anything.

Dad snarled and lunged at Uncle Emmett playfully.

"Yes, someone has been very persistent." My mom said, her tone rather hard.

"You're jealous!" My dad smiled broadly and strode over to sit her on his lap. "You know that I have only eyes for you."

"Can someone please enlighten me on what is going on???" I said rather loudly.

Dad laughed. "Nessie is curious."

"Do you know Bobbi Ellis? Peter's girlfriend?" Aunt Alice piped up. "She has this huge obsessive crush with your dad, and she's been doing all sorts of crazy things to get his attention!"

"And completely oblivious to the fact that he is already taken." My mom added dryly.

I sniggered. My dad's popularity among the girl population was not unknown throughout school.

"Oh Dad, by the way, can I invite Sarah and Laura over next weekend? The school dance is coming, and we want to try on the dresses we've bought." I asked, suddenly just remembering what we discussed in school earlier.

"Sure. Are you going with anybody?" Mom asked.

"No, we're going together, with Caleb and JX, as a group." I said. I honestly wasn't really interested in the whole dating thing right now, not that there was anyone interesting in the first place.

***

The peace could never last that long. Just when I thought that I was finally happily settling down, comfortable (my control over Peter's scent very well managed) and enjoying a regular schoolgirl life, things started to spiral out of control. First was the incident with Peter. I should have known that he would have never given up. Or that he was so proud that he could never take 'no' for an answer. Things begin to roll right on the following Monday morning.

I was rummaging through my locker, trying to find particular textbook when suddenly, his scent hit me. _Shit._ I swore and abandoned the search for the book. I would just have to share with Sarah. I needed to get out of here right now.

I slammed the locker door shut and started to head towards my class when his voice arrested me.

"Hi Nessie, I'm sorry we didn't manage to get much of a proper introduction the other day."

I could here his footsteps come closer. I looked around wildly. No one was around. Everyone was in class already. This was not good.

I turned and gave him a fake smile. "Hi Peter, I'm sorry but I need to go for class…"

He casually leaned against my locker and smiled. "Chill babe, Miss Turner will be late."

_How did he know who my biology teacher was???_

"Well, in any case I don't think we have anything in common to talk about. So bye and have a nice day in school." I said.

"Come on, don't act so feisty." Peter drawled and leaned closer to me.

_Don'''tbreathe_. I chanted mentally. _.. Shit wait I can't not breathe……_

"Look, I just wanted to ask, would you like to go to the school dance with me?" He suddenly asked.

"Huh?"

"You are beautiful, Renesmee. So beautiful. More beautiful than Bobbi. Than anyone in school for that matter. And I know you want me. But you are afraid, aren't you? Don't be frightened. I won't bite…."

I snorted. Who was the one supposed to be troubled by the biting stuff. It would hardly be me.

He turned and drew even closer to me. I could already hear his heart thumping wildly. I couldn't believe his audacity! Does he want to kiss me NOW??? And his close presence wasn't helping me much. The control I had forged the past few weeks was slowly ebbing away. And he thought my reticence was due to my attraction to him. Good grief. Little did he know the struggle I'm having to keep from KILLING him. _DADDY!_ I screamed mentally.

"Come on, I know you want this…" He was getting impatient and leaned his head forward.

_...Ew._ I close my eyes and pushed him away, trying to control my strength. "Look Mister, I don't know what's got into you, but let me clarify, I DO NOT LIKE YOU AND DO NOT WANT YOU AT ALL."

His eyes suddenly turned hard and cold. "Playing hard to get now, are we?" He was angry now. I knew it. Spoiled handsome rich young men can never take rejection well.

He charged over and tried to force himself on me (although obviously I was much stronger than him but annoyingly, I couldn't really show him that for the sake of keeping it secret) and it was just at that point when a shrilly voice screeched. "PETER WORTHINGTON!"

He halted and turned, stunned. "Bobbi! What are you doing here?"

"You. And. I. Are. Over." She painfully declared, turned on her heels and left the hallway.

"Bobbi, wait! I can explain…" Peter glanced at me and wanted to go after her, but suddenly he caught sight of my dad glaring at him with murderous eyes. My dad growled softly, the predator in him emerging, and I saw Peter grew pale. Suddenly, his human instincts were shouting 'Danger Danger Danger'.

My dad slowly walked over, and the near he came, the further Peter shrank behind.

"What are you trying to do." Dad hissed, as he leaned towards him and hit the area of the wall next to Peter's face with his fist.

"uh…uh…uh….I…wa…s….jjjj…uusttt asking Nessie if she wanted to go to the school dance with me." He stammered, clearly terrified.

"I seemed to have witnessed something more…." My dad said, in an icy undertone, when suddenly, he grabbed Peter by the scruff of his neck and lifted him up against the wall. "Let me tell you something, Worthington. I do not care who your father is, or who you are. You will not approach my sister again, do you hear me?" He barked out.

Peter nodded, not trusting himself to speak. My dad let go and he scrambled to the floor.

"I'll be watching." My dad added as he fled.

When he was finally gone, dad turned to me. "You alright?"

I nodded slowly. "Yes….I think so." I wrinkled my nose. "His breath stinks."

Dad burst out laughing, and drew me into his arms. "I doubt we'll see the last of him. He is very very proud, and what we just did completely shattered his pride. He will be back for revenge." He said soberly. "You sure you don't want to leave."

"Of course not." I shook my head vehemently. "We'll be fine." I said, confidently.

***

After that incident, I often caught Peter glaring daggers at me. Uncle Jazz later confirmed the maliciousness of his feelings. It's a good thing that at least I'm half vampire. He would not be able to harm me or my family at all. How could humans be so evil? I often wondered.

On a happier note, my friendship with Sarah was flourishing. Even my dad admitted that she was one of the nicest girls he has encountered in his entire life. On top of that, she was great fun to hang around. We often played practical jokes on JX and Caleb, who took it all in good fun. It was really sporting of them. Once we even attempted to do something on Uncle Emmett, which wasn't that successful. Uncle Jasper once commented that she had such a happy aura around her……vibes of joy were perpetually emitted by her. Which was really strange because most people had negative emotions majority of the time.

"Nessie, did you notice that Laura has changed over the past week?" Sarah suddenly asked me. It was the weekend again, and the first time she was over at my house. Laura was supposed to come to, but at the last minute, she said she couldn't make it. We were just lazing around in my room. One thing I noticed about Sarah was that she was extremely perceptive and observant.

I thought back and tried to remember how Laura behaved. "Now that you mentioned it…..yes, she seemed much happier, and there's like this soft glow on her face."

"Yes! Its almost like she's in love!" Sarah said excitedly. "But with who???"

I shrugged. "Absolutely no idea! She doesn't seem to be hanging anyone in particular."

"Hmmm, I wonder if she would tell us if we asked her." Sarah wondered.

"I doubt it. She hardly says anything about herself……actually," I paused, wondering if I should share what happened to Laura's family with her.

"Actually what?" Sarah asked.

"Actually….she has some family problems. Maybe her father came back?" I said, and decided to tell her.

"Oh! Now I understand." Sarah said, after I finished telling her the whole story. "The poor girl! No wonder you were suddenly extra nice to her."

I nodded. "Well, be it her dad or new love, the most important thing is that she's happy. I'm glad she's found a little happiness."

"Yes," Sarah agreed. A mischievous twinkle suddenly popped into her eye. I smiled, knowing that she had something fun up her sleeve. "Lets go play!"

***

The following week was the first time the murders struck.

***

-End of Book I: Renesmee Cullen-

Completed 22 January 2009

©Kellentia


	6. Chapter 4: Shattered

Daybreak

Book II

Chapter 4

Shattered

Mr Brisco never did like having the Cullens in his class. He knew that Edward Cullen was very much a vampire, but he couldn't quite make out what was Renesmee Cullen. He was just worried that they would interfere with his work, and had reported them to his superiors at the end of the first week. To his surprise, they did not seem too bothered about it and was told to carry on his job and ignore them. He shrugged. It wasn't any of his business anyway. He was just happy as long as he got his blood. Fresh human blood.

***

"Carlise, have you seen today's paper?" Edward asked, his eyes not leaving the newspaper. It was a Saturday morning, the day of the school dance.

Jasper walked over to take a look as well. "Yeah, I've noticed. What about it?"

"Look here at the police report. They said that over the last 6 months, murders on such scale have been happening every month in the main city of Calgary."

Jasper frowned and scanned the paper.

"Newborns?" Edward turned to look at him. Carlise appeared next to Edward at that moment.

Jasper grimaced. "I might make that guess, although I wouldn't be 100% sure. It is true that only a newborn would be careless enough to leave the body unburned, but the murder is gruesome, too gruesome in fact. Traces of blood were left, which is…."

"Which is highly impossible for a newborn. Yes, I see what you mean." Carlise said.

"We could go down to take a look, just to check. The scene should be fresh, since it only happened last night." Jasper offered.

"Perhaps that might be a good idea…..I have to be at the hospital tonight though." Carlise apologized.

Edward winced. "Sorry bro, I need to accompany my wife and daughter to the school dance tonight. Emmett and Rosalie won't be back from hunting until tomorrow, so unless Alice is willing to skip the dance…." He trailed, and glanced at Jasper, who smiled and shook his head.

"I think she really wants to go to the dance. She just bought a new dress for it." Jasper said wryly. "Don't worry, I will go. It is probably the mafia or some gang war. Alice will tell me if its dangerous or safe."

***

The school dance was already in full swing by the time Renesmee and her friends entered the gymnasium. She laughed happily as she took Sarah's hands and twirled around. Bella, Edward and Alice followed behind her.

"Alice, are you all right?" Bella asked, noticing that she wasn't her usual chirpy self.

Alice frowned. "I…well, I did check my visions a few times, and Jasper's safe in all of them, but I still feel some kind of apprehension….maybe its just being separated from him…" She half muttered to herself.

Bella smiled and let her alone. Alice would recover soon enough. She linked arms with Edward and allowed herself to be escorted to the dance floor. "Brings back memories huh?" Edward smiled, as he slowly led her in the dance.

Bella made a face. "I rather not remember that….my clumsy and cumbersome self. You had to lift me on your feet so that I won't trip or something…"

Edward chuckled. "You are so adorable. No, those are sweet memories indeed."

His eyes slowly drifted to where Nessie stood with her newfound friends. Bella saw what he was looking yet. "I'm glad Nessie has found good friends." She said softly.

Edward nodded, but his eyebrows creased ever so slightly. "Sarah is a very very nice girl. I've seen her mind……she will make a very good friend to Nessie. And yet…"

"And yet what?" Bella asked.

"I wonder who exactly is she. She knows…..but I don't know how she knows. Nessie did not tell her."

Bella gasped. "She knows???" She squeaked.

Edward nodded. "Although I don't think she knows that I can read her mind. She knew it after that weekend she came to visit, but it hasn't changed her opinion of us, and she hasn't told anyone. In essence, she is pretending she doesn't know."

"Is she going to do anything about it? Like avoid us?? Isn't she afraid??" Bella started to worry.

"Strangely, no. Or she hasn't decided, or she's not thinking about it….." Suddenly, Edward's eyes widen in horror. "No….no! Jasper no!"

"What is it, Edward!" Bella hissed as he turned and left the dance floor abruptly, searching wildly for Alice.

"Its Jasper. He…." Edward started to explain in a low voice but stopped as soon as he saw Alice drinking and joking with Renesmee and her friends. He quickly yanked her aside. "Alice! Haven't you seen anything??"

"Seen what?" Alice asked, still bouncing to the beat of the music.

"Look for Jasper!" He growled.

Her eyes went blank for a while, and she muffled a tiny scream. "Jasper! I…I…"

Edward glanced at Renesmee. "Sarah, can you drop Nessie home after this ends? We need to leave urgently." His voice returned to a normal volume.

Sarah nodded. "Sure!"

"Is everything ok?" Nessie eyed her parents suspiciously. Edward forced a smile. "Nothing we can't handle. Remember don't return home too late! You'll be safe with Sarah." He said and left.

***

"How can it be possible! I checked and checked before! He was always going to be fine!!" Alice lamented as the car sped down the highway.

Edward finally told them what he had seen in Jasper's mind. Blood, blood and more blood everywhere. Mutilated corpses, and finally, agony when he caught sight of his reflection in a shard of glass – red eyes.

"His in despair….we need to find him, before he does something idiotic." Edward said between clenched teeth. He blamed himself for not bothering to go with Jasper. They must have been getting too complacent, after the last 12 years of peace.

"But how….how could Alice have not seen it happening?" Bella held onto Alice's hand. "His future didn't even disappear!"

"I don't know." Edward said shortly.

Alice suddenly burst into tearless sobs. "I…I…don't know what to see anymore. I can't find him! I don't know where he is. Each future path comes out different, I can't tell which is real!" Bella stroked her heaving shoulders gently. "But it can't be him! He can't have fed on human blood. He has improved so much! Honest! Its not him!"

Silence filled the air as the car drove on. They were finally at the scene of the crime. It looked pretty normal, except that the bodies were disposed neatly in a burning pyre. Edward walked over and counted the number of victims. "5 families will be mourning at this time tomorrow night." He said, face expressionless.

Alice let out a small cry as she crumpled to the ground. Not for the families, but for the guilt that Jasper must be facing right now. "There must be some mistake!" she whispered.

"Alice, we need to find Jasper now." Edward said gently, and came over to lift her up.

Bella sniffed. "Guys, do you smell something? Besides the blood and Jasper's scent."

Edward and Alice lifted their noses. "I don't recognize that smell." Alice said, wrinkling her nose.

"It is very very faint, but still there. One thing for sure, it is definitely not human, vampire or werewolf related. It is new." Edward said grimly.

Alice clutched at Edward's arm abruptly. "We need to go."

Edward nodded. "She sees Jasper deciding to jump off a cliff. Lets go." He said for Bella's benefit.

There they went, three vampires speeding into the night.

***

Laura waited at home, anxiously looking at the clock. It was approaching nine and HE still had not arrived. She had told the girls that she had a surprise for them, and she was really excited to introduce HER boyfriend to them. He had promised to take her to the school dance, but, why wasn't he here yet? Her mom had gone out earlier, prattling on about how beautiful she looked in her gown before she left. Laura never believed what her mother said. If her mother was that great, her dad wouldn't have left her for another woman.

9.30. Thoughts of abandonment slowly crept into her mind. _What if he is going to stand her up? Oh, he probably had some last minute family emergency. _She countered. _But he could have at least called her to let her know._

9.45. The school dance would end at 10.30. She had to leave now, or she would not be attending at all. Her heart sank. _So he wouldn't be making it official today._ She had much entertained the thought of him announcing it to everyone at the end of the school dance, that HE was dating HER.

Her phone rang. She picked it up exciting, expecting him, when she heard Nessie's voice.

"Laura? Are you coming?"

Disappointed.

Just among the background noise of the gymnasium, Laura could suddenly hear someone's voice exclaiming, "Hey Sarah! Isn't that Peter Worthington with Bobbi Ellis? I thought they broke up. And wasn't Bobbi after your brother Nessie?"

Laura's heart leap to her throat. What was that?

"Laura? Laura? Are you there? Sorry, it's a bit noisy here." Nessie spoke again.

"Er…yeah…I'm here." Laura managed to find her voice. "Um Nessie….is Peter there?" She asked weakly.

"Yeah, he is. He and Bobbi just got back together, apparently. What's up? Are you coming?" Nessie was getting a bit impatient, when suddenly she just heard the dial tone. "She hung up on me!" She turned to Sarah, stunned.

Laura closed her eyes. She couldn't speak. Her dreams, those beautiful and precious dreams that kept her alive crumbled one by one. The promises, now empty. Her heart was shattered. Time and time again, her heart has been betrayed by one man after another. First was her father, now her lover. Why. Why must it happen to her. No, she didn't want to think. Her heart was in too much pain. All she wanted now was to just go away, leave this evil and torturous place forever.

Laura rushed to her mom's toilet, groping blindly as tears streamed continuously down her eyes. She couldn't face this. She just wanted to sleep forever, and get away from all of these. Finally, her fingers enclosed around what she wanted.

The bottle cap snapped open, and she poured the pills into her mouth, swallowing with big gulps of water from the tap. She walked to her own bedroom slowly, strangely calm. _It was finally going to end. This life of pain. Finally……_were her last thoughts as she lay down to rest.

***

"Jasper." Alice said softly. They were finally approaching the cliff where Jasper was pacing, clearly in an emotional turmoil. They all could feel it.

The figure finally stopped pacing, and turned to look at them.

Bella bit back a gasp at how contorted his face was. She turned to glance at Edward, who was wincing. "Its not your fault." Edward said.

"I'm sorry…Alice….I'm really sorry." Jasper wrung his hands together. Bella had never seen him so nervous and jittery before.

"Jazz! I should have seen and warned you! I've never blamed you." Alice's eyes were bright and honest, completely forgiving and full of love for him.

"Even more so, I know no one will blame me, that's why I can't go back." Jasper said, his eyes closed. "I don't even have to guts to jump down this cliff."

"You know you won't die. And you won't try to die, because of us, because of Alice." Edward said.

Silence reigned, as the tension mounted.

"No." Edward's head snapped up in shock as Alice ran and clung onto Jasper. "You can't leave! You are family!"

"I have to, Edward!" Jasper snarled. "Look at me! My eyes are RED!" Jasper opened his eyes wider. "I can't live with it. I thought I had it under control, but apparently not. This lifestyle is not suited for me."

"No…..you can…please…." Edward pleaded.

"What exactly happened, Jazz?" Bella's voice suddenly rang out, and all eyes flashed to her.

"It was dark, in the warehouse." Edward started to recite monotonously. "He was hunting for any traces left behind by the killers, any hint of supernatural origin, when suddenly he was hit by a whiff of the most tantalizing blood scent ever……he can't remember what exactly happened after that……but when his rationale mind returned, he was faced with 5 drained human bodies…."

"But you don't remember killing them? So it may not be you." Bella persisted.

"Sometimes, when our predatory nature takes over, our conscious mind is hardly aware of what we are doing. It shows that I have not fully achieved proper self-control yet." Jasper said coldly. "And see my eyes, it is enough proof. Look, I'm sorry Edward, but I can't face the family right now. I can't stay."

"We." Alice corrected, and linked arms with him.

Edward heaved a huge sigh. He walked up to his brother, and clapped him on the shoulder, before pulling him into a tight hug. "Remember, you are ALWAYS one of us, and we will be waiting for you to come home." He turned to Alice. "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

Bella flung her arms around both Alice and Jasper. "We'll miss you. Please, come home soon!"

Alice turned and smiled sadly at them, as Jasper marched forward, away, into the woods. Bella looked on, feeling uneasy. And there they went, two shadowy figure in the dark - the first two of her family to leave. Little did she know that it was only the beginning of a nightmare.

***

Oh no, so Alice and Jasper have left! What happened to Laura? And are the murders of natural or supernatural origin???

Stay tuned to find out...

Completed 25 January 2009

©Kellentia


	7. Chapter 5: Torn

Daybreak

Book II

Chapter 5

Torn

Carlise looked at Nessie seriously. "Laura's pregnant."

Nessie stared at her grandfather incredulously. "But she doesn't even have a boyfriend!" She squeaked.

It was as if the last 12 hours had not held enough shocks. First, when she reached home, the family….or what was left of the family, with Emmett and Rosalie still away, was in discussion. Then Edward had announced that Jasper and Alice had left. Permanently. Later in the wee hours of Sunday morning, Carlise was paged to be at the hospital for an emergency suicide case. After he pumped the victim's stomach and made sure the condition was stable, he called Nessie to inform me that her friend had just attempted suicide.

"_Ness, do you know a girl called Laura Muller from your school?" He had asked over the phone. _

"_Laura? Yeah, she hangs out with me and Sarah sometimes." Nessie replied. _

"_Then maybe you might want to come down to the hospital. She just attempted suicide."_

_Laura? Attempting suicide?? Why and how??? These questions bombarded her mind. Nessie quickly called Sarah and they immediately headed down to the hospital. _

"Not even recently? The foetus is really young though, barely 3 weeks old." Carlise paused. "Thankfully, she was found before the sleeping pills could really enter the baby's blood stream."

Nessie glanced at Sarah, her eyes worried. "We did suspect that she was in love……and she told us she had a surprise for us at the dance….but she never turned up." Sarah said.

"You girls might want to go in and see her. Don't agitate her though, she is still very weak." Carlise said and left.

Nessie and Sarah quickly made their way into the room where Laura was warded.

"Hey girl," Sarah said softly as they entered the room. "Hi Mrs Muller," They greeted, seeing Laura's mother by her bedside.

"Hi girls." Mrs Muller's eyes were red from crying. She looked haggard and worn, as if she had spent many sleepless nights.

"My poor baby," she mumbled. "Its all my fault……I'll leave you girls here to talk. I need to get a drink."

As the door closed gently, Laura shifted and hid her face under her bedclothes.

"Its just us old girl. There's no need to be shy." Nessie said, going to the bed.

"Its so embarrassing….I really can't face anyone…." Laura whimpered.

"Nonsense. Its just us. Tell us who has bullied you, we'll stick up for you." Sarah ordered, pulling the covers down.

Laura gave a cry and wrapped her hands over her face.

"Laura, we need you to share with us what happened. You'll feel better too. We'll help you through." Nessie coaxed.

Laura just shook her head and sank deeper into the bed. Nessie looked at Sarah helplessly. So was Laura bullied? Raped? Topics which are much too sensitive, at this point of time.

Sarah started up some friendly mindless chatter, to ease some of the tension. It was no point pumping her for information right now. Mrs Muller finally came, and the girls left, promising to return the next day.

"She's not going to disclose the father, is she?" Sarah said, after they had walked in silence for a while.

Nessie shook her head. But she knew someone who can help her find out…..and the person who made Laura suffer is going to pay….

***

"No, Ness, I can't do that." Edward objected. Nessie wanted him to listen in to her thoughts to find out what exactly had happened to her.

"Please please Daddy! Its for her sake! Its so unhealthy if she keeps it all inside." Nessie protested.

"But it will only be effective if she voluntarily confides in you, not you finding out what is going on in her head through unethical means. No, it's a breach in confidentiality." Edward was firm.

"Awww Daddddddddd! But she isn't the strong type. She won't tell anyone! And who knows what she might do next. She might be successful in killing herself the next time. She's so tormented!" Nessie insisted. "Please Daddy! I really want to help her!"

Edward sighed, pinching his nose bridge. He couldn't' say no to his beloved daughter for long. "How about, let's go for a compromise. I'll see what I can find out, but if I deem it too personal or unnecessary for you to know, I won't say. Deal?"

"Yes! Ok, thank you Daddy!" Nessie squealed with joy and gave her dad a peck on his cheek.

***

The hospital was quiet. Most of the staff had retired into their own rooms, allowing the patients to rest. Carlise had granted Edward and Nessie special permission to 'visit' during non-visiting hours. They weren't doing anything much actually…..they just sat outside Laura's room, and waited.

Nessie looked at her father intently. Finally, after a long while, he opened his eyes and sighed. "I understand now, why she can't say it out. Let's go home Nessie. We'll talk then."

Mystified, she followed her father out.

"So, Daddy?" Nessie questioned, when they were finally home. Carlise, Esme, Bella, Nessie and Edward sat in a circle in the living room.

"Carlise, how bad is her condition?" Edward asked.

"She isn't recovering as fast as she ought to…..she is very very depressed." Carlise answered.

"I…" Edward sighed, loss for words. "Let me think of how to phrase this." He paused. "When I heard her mind, she kept replaying the same few scenes in her head. Those are the source of her despondency. I don't really know if you can help her as much as you want, except to just give her moral support." Edward drummed his fingers on the table. "In short, a guy made use of her affections, got her pregnant, but dumped her in the end. But what is making it worse was the rejection from her father. It drove her to seek affections in this boy, and now that he has rejected her yet again, the blow is way too great. She can't handle it."

"So who is the guy! How dare he cheat her!" Nessie was furious.

"I can't say. Look Nessie, its not very appropriate that we get too involved in the human's affairs. But I do understand that you are her friend, and you want to help her. But in this situation, it has to stop here. The repercussions of knowing and doing something would be too great for our family to bear. We can't afford to draw attention to ourselves." Edward explained.

Nessie glared at her father. Suddenly, a look of realization flashed across her face. But of course. "Worthington." She hissed. "Its Peter Worthington, isn't it."

Esme sucked in her breath. "Worthington! He is one of the richest and most influential man on earth!"

Edward refused to look at her eyes.

"Dad, if you don't tell me, I'll go and confront him!" Nessie threatened.

"No!" Edward shouted, and groaned. "Yes, it is Peter but it is precisely because it is Peter, no one can do anything. Laura will only be one of his many girls, and if she makes any noise, he can easily have her silenced. You don't want that, do you?"

Nessie turned pale.

"I'm sorry darling, I know you want to help her, but not in that way." Edward said apologetically.

But there wasn't any need. By the next afternoon, Laura had packed up and left, left the place, for good. All she left was a letter addressed to Nessie.

_Dear Nessie_

_I'm sorry I'm leaving like this, but I'm not brave enough to deal with this and face everyone else here, especially in school. But I do want to thank you for being my friend. Initially, I was indifferent and quiet because I thought you were like the other pretty girls – mean, uncaring, just a pretty face. But you're not. Thank you for being so nice to me, and caring for me. All the best for everything._

_Best regards,_

_Laura_

Nessie blinked back tears. She had also addressed another letter to Sarah. She later heard from Carlise that she was moving with her mother to Seattle, to start afresh. No one knew if she would keep the baby. And so another person left Nessie's life, within a span of 2 days. She was silent and deep in thought, learning how to deal with loss. This experience was maturing her, but it came at a price.

***

"I miss you, Jake." Nessie twirled the telephone cord round her fingers as she talked to Jacob. They had taken to calling each other weekly, to lessen the harshness of the separation of distance.

"I miss you too, Ness." Jake's deep voice came over the phone.

It was a long week. Jake was sympathetic for Laura, and didn't like the sound of the Peter person one bit.

"You steer clear of him, hear me." He cautioned, before they hung up.

Nessie sighed. It was a week since Alice, Jasper and Laura had left. The Cullen house suddenly seemed really quiet without Alice, and the inhabitants became more highly strung, noticeably because of Jasper's absence. It was only now when they realize how much Jasper was involved in keeping the peace of the house. A lot more quarrels had broke out, even Esme had lost her temper and refused to speak for 3 days, when Emmett accidently broke her china ware again.

That night, another tragedy struck.

It was a regular night. Emmett and Rosalie were watching television in the living room. Edward was practicing some piano, Bella reading a book, Carlise in his study, Nessie was over at Sarah's place. Esme was busy working on her computer company business, when suddenly she gave a little gasp, and fell onto the floor, curling up into a little ball. Everyone's head snapped up, their heightened senses alerting them to the plight, and they rushed to her room. Carlise was the first to reach.

"Esme!" He exclaimed and picked her up easily, laying her flat on the bed. Her face was contorted with pain.

"She's hurting, Carlise!" Edward started to panic. Esme was as dear to him as his own mother.

"Esme, I need you to tell me, what are you feeling." Carlise tried to be calm and professional, everyone could see the amount of effort that took.

"Carlise…..pain….everywhere….my middle, especially." She gasped out, then curled into a fetal position.

"Poison, it has to be poison." Carlise swore.

"Will she die?" Bella asked, in a small voice.

"No, she won't. This won't kill her, but she will be in agony. God!" Carlise took in a deep breath. "Rosalie, get more blood from the fridge. It may give her more strength to fight. The poison has interacted with our own venom, and the chemistry between the two is what is hurting her. Edward." He turned to Edward. "What did she do today?"

"She met up with a client, a Mr Eric Tay….a chinese man. They were discussing her designing the interior of his new office…. " Edward said as he read her mind.

"Did she consume anything?" Carlise pressed.

"She just drank a cup of tea…..Chinese tea." Edward said.

"It doesn't make sense! Why would anyone want to hurt Esme! What would Eric Tay have to gain out of poisoning Esme? A free job? No way!" Emmett sounded, genuinely confused.

"Who is Eric Tay? And what company is he from?" Carlise kept asking.

"He is the CEO of this company, Fravine. It deals with furnishings." Edward replied.

"Maybe its time to pay a little visit to this Mr Eric Tay." Carlise said grimly.

***

The visit proved fruitless. Eric Tay was a small timid Chinese businessman, quite elderly. Edward assessed his thoughts, and saw nothing suspicious. There was not anything particular in the tea served, both Edward and Carlise had sniffed and checked. It was extremely puzzling.

Esme's pain had eased a little, but not much. Everyone took turns to watch over her, sponging her with water, but it did little to help. The torment was comparible to the transformation from human to vampire, except that this time, they had no idea when it will end.

Carlise set up a lab, researching to identify the poison and antidote, and took unpaid leave from the hospital. Edward helped at night. The rest scored the internet and library, trying to find out from the legends what kind of poisons can hurt a vampire. The only one they knew so fast was the bite of a shape shifter, but there was no shape shifters around!

As each day passed, Esme was slowly giving up hope, and asking to die.

"No! We won't let you. Trust us, Esme! You can't leave me! You can't leave us!" Carlise pleaded, hating himself for not being able find the cure fast enough.

A week passed. Carlise became more and more frantic, making calls to his various friends for help. Finally, someone suggested trying South America, people may know more down there. Emmett and Rosalie immediately volunteered to go. "We'll be back soon, with the antidote, promise!" Emmett promised, and both of them left in the night.

The Cullen house was getting smaller and smaller.

***

Written and completed on 25 January 2009

©Kellentia

AN: Hi everyone! Um....some feedback would be nice :) and thanks sooooo much to everyone who has reviewed!!!


	8. Chapter 6: The Phone Call

Daybreak

Book II

Chapter 6

The Phone call

The Cullen house was quiet. Nessie sat by Emse's bedside, singing her favourite song gently. A day had past since Emmett and Rosalie left. Hopefully they would take no longer than 3 days. Suddenly, the phone rang, shrilly, making everyone jump. Perhaps it was the tension in the house, but everyone was rather edgy.

"Cullen Residence," Edward picked up the phone and greeted the caller politely. His eyebrows creased in concern and called for Bella.

"Mom?" Bella spoke into the phone.

"Bella? Bella…oh I'm so sorry to disturb you…..but I just had an accident…." Renee's trailed.

"Mom! What accident!" Bella started to panic.

"Um…well….I….really want to see you Bella. And Edward. Please? Could you guys come down? I really want to see you…." Renee muttered nervously.

"Mom! Of course we'll come down. But what exactly happened to you?? Do you want Nessie?"

"Oh…nono, only you and Edward. Don't bring Renesmee. And hurry Bella!" Renee said, and quickly hung up the phone before Bella could ask anymore questions.

"Bella?" Edward quickly held Bella, who looked like she was on the verge of fainting, vampire or not.

"Its Mom…she said she had an accident. But it was so odd. She didn't describe what happen, which is what she would usually do……she would explain every bit of the accident in detail. Then, she only wanted you and me, which is really strange, because she loves Nessie and if it were anything serious, she would want to Nessie too. And she called Nessie by her full name. Also….her voice….she seemed frightened." Bella said thoughtfully.

"Edward! Do you realize, if both of us left, Nessie would be left here alone in this house, with only Carlise and a sick Esme?" Bella's eyes widen in horror. "Could it be….someone is trying to break us apart. It is so odd. Too many coincidences. First Jasper had that "lapse" out of the blue and killed 5 humans, without Alice even seeing it??? Then Esme is struck with some unknown illness, making Carlise distraught, and now Emmett and Rosalie are gone as well. Then this thing with Renee…..its almost as if someone wants Nessie to be left alone, without any of us being able to protect her!"

"Hold on, we could be just grasping at straws here. It could be just a coincidence…." Edward said uncertainly. But it was true, too many strange coincidences had happened since they arrived. Especially the gruesome murders in Calgary, once a month for the past 6 months…….there has to be a pattern…

Edward ran upstairs and turned on the computer. Quickly, he checked the dates of the murder through the internet….it was just a hunch, but……..

Edward hissed. His hunch was correct. Indeed, these murders only happened during the full moon. If there was a werewolf prowling around nearby, no way will he leave his daughter here alone. Especially with the next full moon to be scheduled tomorrow night.

"Bella, lets do an experiment. Call your mom and tell her that we can't go down immediately. Tell her that Nessie is running a fever or something. Tell her we'll go the following weekend." Edward said, running his hands through his tousled hair. What was going on!

Nodding, Bella proceeded. "Mom? Um, I'm so sorry but we won't be able to go down immediately. Carlise needs us at home…but we'll fly down the weekend after next. You aren't in mortal danger, are you?"

"Bella, you don't understand. You have to be here, within 48 hours. You and Edward. If not…"

"If not, don't think of seeing your mom and your precious father over at Forks ever again," A menacing voice took over the phone.

Bella snarled in response, but only the dial tone remained. Bella slammed down the phone in anger.

"Someone wants Renesmee. Someone wants Renesmee very badly." Bella growled. They had been so blind, and stupid. Yet, who could blame them. The enemy attacks were so subtle. Then a thought frightened her. _Are we even safe in our own house???_ She lifted her shield, so Edward could hear her thoughts.

"I think we're fine. There's no one else's scent here." Edward narrowed his eyes. "We need to get Charlie down to La Push…….but what do we do with Renesmee?"

"And Carlise and Emse! We can't leave then alone here!" Bella paced up and down. "The best thing is to send them to La Push, quickly and quietly. Jacob and his pack would be the best protection for her."

If only Alice and Jasper were here. Bella's heart sank. It was probably for this reason why they were tricked away. Who knows where they were now.

"Do you think both of you are over-reacting?" Carlise was coming down the stairs. "I heard what you were saying. The only people who might even possess a motive in wanting Renesmee would be the Volturi, but they don't operate like this."

"Why is then someone holding Renee hostage, demanding that we head over to Florida? They didn't even demand a ransom! It seems like their main motive is to get us out of this place….to get everyone out of this place." Bella argued. "Unless….they want to separate us individually to capture us?" She whipped around and faced Edward. "Aro really wants Alice and you, doesn't he? What if its not Nessie, but just wanting to separate all of us?"

Suddenly, they were interrupted by a loud banging on the front door.

"Its Sarah….and…" Edward's brows creased. "And….she has a lot to tell us…"

The moment the front door opened, Sarah charged in, completely ignoring Carlise who opened the door, asking, "Where's Nessie?"

"Upstairs with Emse." Bella replied. "What's wrong, Sarah?"

"Nessie has to leave. She has to leave NOW. Tonight." Sarah emphasized, her face a picture of agitation.

The three vampires did not move, as still as statues.

"Listen, I know this is weird, but you guys have to trust me. I know what you are. I know what Nessie is, and we don't have much time. She needs to get out of here." Sarah threw her hands in the air in desperation. "What must I do to convince you!"

"Nothing. I know that you are telling the truth." Edward finally said, looking at her intently.

Sarah's eyes widened in shock.

"I can read your mind." He explained.

She placed her hand over her opened mouth. "Uh oh…."

"Your secret will be safe with us." Edward said kindly. "Maybe you should do some explaining…."

"I….I…" Sarah glanced wildly, clearly panicking.

"Sarah, you don't have to fear. We are your friends, we will protect you." Edward persuaded.

"Sarah?" Nessie, hearing the commotion had come downstairs.

"Nessie!" Sarah sighed in relief. "You need to leave."

"No one's leaving till you tell us the whole story. Sarah, I know this is hard for you, but trust me, we want to keep this secret even more than you want." Edward insisted.

"What secret? Sarah? What's going on?" Nessie was confused.

"I….ok, I hope you'll not regard me as strange." Sarah took a deep breath. "I know this is going to sound awfully out of the world, but, trust me on this, ok? Nessie, you knew that I am a Christian, right?"

Nessie nodded, wondering where this was heading.

"I….well I'm not only that. I see things…..I see angels, demons, and I dream and see visions as well. It's a gift that God has blessed me with……and I don't see whatever's going to happen in the future. Just whatever God wants to tell me. I know its really odd but bear with me for a while." Sarah looked at each of them carefully before proceeding. "The day I first came to this place, that very night, I had a dream. And in that dream, God told me who and what all of you were."

Carlise's eyes widened.

"And, He also told me that I need not be afraid of you." Sarah added softly.

"Weren't you afraid, in the least?" Bella asked gently.

Sarah shook her head. "I know my God would protect me, if anything should happen. But that's besides the point, for now. And, I just found out something recently, from my mom. I….I never knew my father. My mother brought me up single-handedly. But last week, she suddenly disappeared. She left a letter for me though, hidden such that only I would be able to find it, telling me that if she wasn't back by the weekend, I was to retrieve certain files from her computer. It was then I discovered who my father was. Peter Worthington is my half brother."

All except Edward gasped in shock.

"The thing is, my mother had stumbled upon an age old secret, ancient as earth itself. I just realized that my mom had been working for old Mr Worthington…Richard Worthington….all along. But the secret, just recently discovered, made her afraid and uneasy. She wasn't supposed to know. No one is supposed to know. Knowledge meant death."

"I did a check on the internet," Sarah continued, "and found out that Old Worthington is very elusive. No one really knows who he is….some people in fact think he is just a figurehead of Worthington Enterprises. You'd be surprised at how extensive his network is, and the number of people working under him."

"Have you all ever heard of the Children of the Moon?" Sarah suddenly asked.

Carlise nodded. "Werewolves. True werewolves that transform only during the full moon."

Bella shuddered, remembering the last encounter with the Volturi. Apparently Caius had a near death experience with them, and clearly the encounter had left him traumatized.

"Richard Worthington, my estranged father, is a werewolf." Sarah whispered, almost inaudible, if not for the heightened vampire senses. "It is a secret jealously guarded by them through the generations, father to son only. My mother only found it out by chance. I think she went to investigate further, out of curiosity, and that's why she's been missing for so long."

Nessie nodded uncertainly, unsure where this was heading.

"Last night, I had a dream." Sarah resumed her normal tone. "I was in a dark room. There were plenty of people around me, although it seemed as though no one noticed me. Everyone was intent on what was going on in the centre of the room. I walked forward, slipping my way past the crowd that had formed a circle formation around a large stone table in the middle of the room. There, there were 3 red candles burning, giving the place such a sinister glow. At the side of the table, crouched a creature with a body of a man, and face of a wolf. The face was horrid, deep red eyes contorted into some sort of evil glee. And on the table lay a most beautiful baby girl. I was terrified, for there was this ominous feeling to the entire place. I could sense that something terribly evil was about to take place. But something urged me further forward, and I continued walking till I was right in front of the baby girl. She turned, and I finally got to see her face." Sarah quickly looked at Nessie. "Without any doubt, I immediately recognized the girl…….she was you, Nessie."

"Then things happened so fast. Before I could even scream, the wolf-man suddenly pounced on the baby, and gobbled her up. It was then when I fainted, and when I woke up, I realized it was a dream. Yet, I could remember everything vividly." Sarah paused again. "This is why I told you I am a Dreamer. The dream had to have some meaning, so I asked God what it meant."

"And what did…um…God tell you?" Bella asked. This was a bit too much for her….she never did consider the existence of God. She never wanted to, in fact. It was always Edward's argument about souls………..

"The 3 candles represented 3 days. In 3 days time, Richard Worthington, head of Worthington Enterprises, is going to kill Nessie. I have no idea why, but that is what the dream meant. I'm sorry, I know it sounds very very bizarre, but you have to trust me on this." Sarah fidgeted.

Edward suddenly laughed. "Bella, doesn't this human seem like you. She is talking to a bunch of vampires, and thinks that she having and interpreting dreams is out of the ordinary." He shook his head.

"So now what? This old werewolf wants to eat me? What ever does he want me for?" Nessie wasn't really sure how to respond to all of these.

"You really need to leave. The next full moon is tomorrow night. It is my guess that he will come and get you tomorrow. It is when his powers are at its fullest strength apparently." Sarah said.

"But my parents are vampires, they can protect me. How hard would it be to beat 1 werewolf?" Nessie protested.

"Nessie, you don't understand." Sarah said slowly. "He wasn't the only wolf-man I saw on the room. There will be others."

"And we're not supposed to be around here tomorrow." Bella spoke up. "I just had a call from Renee, someone's holding her hostage and forcing me and Edward to go to her."

"Yes…..it all fits now, having a werewolf in the picture. A real werewolf, Child of the Moon, that is." Edward muttered. "Very ingenious planning, luring us away one by one. He must have known us very well. But why Nessie, I still can't figure out. What does he want with her?"

Carlise suddenly gripped the handle of his chair tightly, until it crumbled into dust.

"Carlise?" Edward looked at Carlise, worried.

"Werewolf venom! Why didn't I think of that! Small quantities of it causes tremendous torment to a vampire, but doesn't kill. But how am I going to extract it from her system? It must have spread throughout her entire system, starting from her stomach." Carlise's eyes flashed. "I am going to kill the person who did this to her, werewolf or not." To say he was furious would be an understatement. Not even Edward had seen the compassionate doctor so angry, and so intent on murdering someone.

"Antidote. The only way is to give her an antidote which will neutralize the werewolf venom." Edward placed a hand on Carlise's shoulder.

"And where is there an antidote! Good grief, no one knows about its existence, so no one would bother to find an antidote!" Carlise was breaking down. The stress from everything that had happened was taking its toil.

"Emse, Carlise's wife, somehow ingested some werewolf venom, and it reacts with our own venom, making her feel pain throughout her entire body. She's been like this for a week." Edward replied to Sarah's unspoken question. He then turned to Carlise. "You can make the antidote. We just need to get a sample of the werewolf venom." He said grimly.

"And how are we going to get that? We can't just charge into Worthington's…" Carlise's eyes suddenly brightened. They were vampires, they could even go right into Worthington's room and kill him! It will save them all the trouble.

"Um, Carlise, there is a slight problem here." Edward had read his thoughts. "We don't even know who Richard Worthington is, or how he looks like!"

"Peter Worthington. He should know." Bella said darkly.

"Or you could let me take him to you. Since he wants me." Nessie volunteered.

"NO!" Both Edward and Bella turned to Nessie and snarled.

"That's right, we forgot about Nessie. God! Sarah, we need to leave for Florida or else Renee would be hurt. And Nessie can't come…….and we can't allow Carlise to go to Worthington alone. Damn, where's everyone else when we need them?" Edward swore, in despair. The family was falling apart, into shreds.

***

-End of Book II-

Completed on 26 January 2009

©Kellentia


	9. Chapter 7: Answers

Daybreak

Book IV Bella Cullen

Chapter 7: Answers

The phone rang again. Bella snatched it up. "Cullen Residence," She barked, frustrated.

"Bella? Have you bought your tickets yet?" Renee asked timidly.

"We…"

"They know, Bella. You need to get the earliest flight out. Otherwise….." Renee suddenly gave a scream.

"MOM!" Bella yelled.

"Otherwise, this won't be all that you'll here from her," a diabolical laughter came from the phone.

"Edward!" Bella screamed, her hand clutching at her head.

"Mommy!" Nessie ran to Bella and hugged her tightly.

Sarah's raised her eyebrows. _Mommy??_

"They seem to be monitoring our every moment." Edward paced. "We need to buy the plane tickets first. We need to save Renee. But Nessie can't come with us."

"She can't stay here either! Neither can Carlise nor Esme. They would be no match for a pack of werewolves!" Bella moaned.

"Tanya! The Denali Clan!" Edward's eyes suddenly lit up. "Carlise, you have to take Esme and Nessie there. We'll call Emmett and Rosalie to join you there immediately, as soon as they can. And we'll keep trying to contact Alice and Jasper. Once we settle Renee and Charlie, we will come to join you. I'm afraid even if we avoid the wolves at full moon tomorrow, it wouldn't be the end of the story."

"But what about school? What about Sarah?" Nessie darted a glance at Sarah.

"Edward!" Carlise's voice was suddenly hard and full of authority. "I cannot allow Esme to suffer another day longer."

"But Carlise, it is too risky, too dangerous for you to go alone! And if you go, Esme will be left alone here!" Edward turned to his adopted father, and pleaded.

"No." Carlise was resolute.

Then suddenly, the most beautiful voice rang out clearly in everyone's ears.

"Need any help?" The voice asked cheerfully, as the front door flung open yet again, only to reveal…

"ALICE!" Bella shrieked, and bounded straight into the petite vampire's arms. The two granite bodies crashed into each other, creating a thunderous sound. "Did I ever tell you that you have the most beautiful voice in the whole wide world?" Bella cried happily. If she could, tears would have been falling down her cheeks.

"Bella Bella," Alice shook her head, amused. "I forgot how exuberant you are…."

"Alice." Edward was completely relieved with the appearance of his sister, and smiled gratefully at her. "I was too caught up here…so I didn't manage to hear you coming…and…" He looked expectantly at the door. "Jasper!" He whispered joyfully.

Jasper stepped into the hallway tentatively, with a sheepish look on his face.

"Jasper!" Carlise strode towards him, and drew him into his arms. "Thanks for coming home, my son."

Jasper suddenly stiffen, smelling the scent of human blood in the air. Sarah. His eyes hardened as Sarah stepped into view.

Alice saw and quickly went over the hold Jasper's hand. "We came back because I saw that you guys were in trouble. But I couldn't see what trouble exactly. And Esme! I saw her in pain!"

"Werewolves, Children of the Moon." Edward explained. "Thank you so much, Alice and Jasper. You have no idea how much we need you right now. Come, we have a lot to discuss and explain."

***

It was all settled. Now that Alice and Jasper were back, everyone's spirits lightened considerably. Alice would drive both Nessie and Sarah to the Denali coven's place. Nessie had insisted that Sarah accompany her. _"Anyway, with werewolves prowling around tomorrow night, you wouldn't be safer anywhere else but with us." Nessie had said. _

Edward and Bella would fly to Florida as arranged, and Carlise and Jasper would go in search of Peter Worthington. They would meet at the Denali's in 2 days time, and Emmett and Rosalie would join them there as well. Then they would decide what to do.

***

"Alice, don't you think the Children of the Moon are kinda queer?" Nessie mentioned. They were speeding along the highway in Alice's beautiful yellow Porsche.

Alice gave her a strange look.

"As in, I mean, you can't see them. But it seems like they don't exist in your vision. You can't see their interference in the future. Its completely different from Jacob, where the future totally disappears." Nessie explained. "Like, you didn't see Esme at the Chinese man's place. You only saw her in bed, in pain. You didn't see Jasper going to kill all those people. You haven't even seen that I'm going to be killed, not that your vision for me was clear to begin with. But still! They seem to not exist at all, in your visions at least."

Alice blinked. "If that is the case……then it means that, Jasper might have most probably been set up!" Alice gritted her teeth. "He was blaming himself for something completely not is fault!" She growled and stepped on the accelerator.

"Um….Alice? The speed limit…" Sarah squeaked, fingers clutching her seat tightly. She had never ridden in such a fast moving car before.

Alice suddenly froze.

"Alice, what's wrong!" Nessie was afraid.

"We are going to pick up a passenger really soon." She snapped back into reality, and slowly decreased speed. "Can you hear that? Someone's crying for help, and….." Alice turned to Sarah. "I think she is your mom."

***

**BPOV**

_Why is the plane taking so long to take off?_ I fidgeted in my seat.

Edward reached over and squeezed my hand reassuringly. "Its faster than running, trust me."

I smiled weakly, and turned to look out of the window. Truth be told, I was extremely worried for my mom and Phil. My beloved scatterbrain mother, my best friend. I winced as I thought of the horrors of being kidnapped by werewolf henchmen.

"Don't worry, they won't dare to hurt her." Edward pulled me close to him comfortingly.

The plane finally took off, and we finally reached Florida. We managed to quickly pass through customs (with a smile and a little cash on my and Edward's part), and made our way to Renee's home. With appropriate pieces of clothing covering our bodies from the sun shine. I had forgotten how much I loved the sun.

"Mom!" I called out frantically as I rapped at the door. Suddenly, I felt something cold and hard stick into my side. I glanced at Edward out of the corner of my eye. He just rolled his eyes. Right, means we're safe. No strange supernatural beasts.

"You both will not make a sound, and lets get into the apartment." A soft but menacing voice sounded in my ear.

I nodded, not wanting to make a scene in such a public area. There will be plenty of time to turn to tables on them once in the apartment.

The door clicked open, and the men behind us pushed us in. I finally saw Renee, tied up in a corner, with Phil at her side.

"Mom!!" I shouted.

Her eyes lit up with relief. Her mouth was gagged. She seemed to be trying to tell me something.

As quick as thought, Edward quickly flipped the guns out of the 3 men who were standing behind us at inhuman speed, and knocked them onto the ground, and tied them up with the rope that was already made available in the shelf next to the door. All in a measure of a second.

I quickly ran to my mother and Phil, and untied them. "I was so worried for you!" I hugged them tightly.

"Bella, we need to get your mom to the hospital." Phil spoke urgently. "Renee had an accident."

"What? Where!" I panicked again, checking my mom all over for injury.

"Her side is hurting, very badly. They had knocked her to the ground in the process of holding us hostage. She wasn't very cooperative." Phil explained.

It was only then when I realized how pale my mother was. She winced. I picked my mom up easily in my arms, snarling at the 3 kidnappers. They look absolutely terrified.

"I'll stay here. Bring her to the hospital." Edward said. "And you might want to let Phil carry her….." he trailed off, looking at me pointedly.

Oh right. I forgot. Their not supposed to know about us. Although I guess we had done too many things that might raise a bit too many questions.

I nodded and dutifully handed Renee over to the able bodied Phil carefully. "I'll be back." I said, shooting a murderous glare at the men. I knew Edward would have a field of a time picking the minds of these men to find out the master mind behind this.

***

We had finally finished disposing of the men. They were the top assassins in their field, but of course, no match for us vampires. They totally had no idea what they were up against. Their employer had lied to them. Renee was supposed to be admitted to the hospital for observation, but I didn't feel safe with people who wanted to harm my family on the loose.

"_Its still safer for you and Phil to be with Charlie in La Push." I insisted. "At least until the matter is over."_

Renee finally relented, and they flew over to Forks. Edward and I, once ensuring that my parents were safe with the pack, headed over to the Denali's place. With Jacob in tow.

"_You are not going anywhere without me." Jacob had announced. "Look, its Nessie we're talking about here, and she is as much my responsibility, as with yours. Also, with those funny real werewolve around, I'll be useful."_

Edward had nothing to say.

***

"JACOB!" Nessie squealed, leapt out of her seat and flung herself onto Jacob as we stepped into the house. Everyone else had gathered there already, including Carlise and Jasper.

"Not greeting your parents?" Edward looked at Nessie.

"We haven't seen each other in months!" Jacob said defensively, his hand hanging possessively around Nessie's waist.

Nessie blushed, and quickly disentangled herself from Jacob, and skipped to our side, giving each of us a peck on our cheek. "Sorry Dad, sorry Mom. But I've missed Jacob so much!"

"Tanya, Kate, Garrett." Edward greeted, as they appeared in view. They look worried.

"What is it, Edward?" I looked at my husband in fear, feeling him tense up. "Is it Esme?"

"Carlise is currently working on an antidote for her. Come, we have a lot to discuss." Tanya said, motioning for all of us to gather in the dining room.

To my surprise, another rather middle-aged human woman was lying on a couch next to the dining table. Sarah was sitting next to her, her face pinched with worry.

"This is Caroline, Sarah's mother." Alice introduced, entering the room from another door. "She has much information for us. But first, is Charlie and Renee safe?"

I nodded. I felt so confused. What on earth was going on? Maybe I was just paranoid….after all, I haven't been a danger magnet all these years…..but maybe, now is the time we'd get some answers.

"Jasper, did you and Carlise find the werewolf?" Edward asked.

Jasper shook his head. "Surprisingly, Peter Worthington hasn't even met his father before. No family portraits, nothing. His mother had died 10 years ago, and he has been living alone in the big house, with all the servants."

_Then how is Carlise working on the antidote?_

I must have shown my confusion because Jasper gestured to Caroline, Sarah's mother. "She has some answers." He said.

"What happened to her?" I could sense that there was something not very right with her. She was looking extremely weak.

"Werewolf venom poisoning too." Alice said. "But being human, it is eating up her system."

"But wouldn't she turn into a werewolf?" All the mythological stories were returning to my memory.

Alice shook her head. "Females never become werewolves, according to her. If Carlise doesn't manage to find an antidote in time, she is going to just fade away."

My heart went out to Sarah. The poor girl, with an evil man for a father, and now her even her mother going to be taken away from her. "What happened?"

"I want to tell the story." Caroline muttered weakly from her couch.

Sarah squeezed her hand. "You don't have to do this…..Edward can tell it for you."

Caroline shook her head. "Its my story."

"You don't have to speak too loudly then…we all have very good hearing." Alice said gently.

"As you all know, I went missing for a while. Truth be told, I was careless while snooping around Richard Worthington's office. I didn't realize how much tabs he kept on people closest to him. I am one of the few whom he has allowed to see his face. I…..I was young and naïve at that time. He assumed I would be very gullible and trustable. After I had Sarah, he sent me away with a lot of money, and a warning never to reveal who was the father of my child. Many years passed peacefully, until a year ago, when I suddenly had another invitation to work in his company again. As his personal secretary."

"I was never keen, but I soon got the message that the invitation was just a polite way of demanding. With Richard Worthington, saying no is never an option. Hence I had to start working for him again. The procedure was the same, ask no questions, and you'll get no lies. But I was older, and seen more of the world by then. I begin to notice rather odd things. He had built a secret wing in his mansion. No body had access to it, and no one knew what it was. But I noticed that there were occasions where huge black sacks were being carted out of the area…..they were like bodies. He also began to order huge amounts of chemical equipment, as if he was furnishing a laboratory."

"It sparked my curiousity, but I knew never to ask questions, if I wanted to live. He was someone who keeps a lot of secrets, and would do anything to make sure they remain secret. So I began to snoop around, and was caught."

"To my surprise, he was not that angry with me prying in his study, as I thought he would be. But he told me that he needed me to do some things, and for that I had to stay with him, and he would tell me his secret. And so I agreed. But by then, I had already suspected there was something with wolves, because I found plenty of animal hairs in the rubbish bin of his office. It struck me as odd, as he was never one to keep pets. I sent it for testing, and confirmed that it belonged to wolves. I thought he was into smuggling wolves." Caroline gave a small laugh. "I only found out the truth when I accidently overheard him arranging with someone a meeting with Peter, his son. He said that it was almost time to reveal his true heritage to him, and laughed such a diabolical laughter that made my hair stand on end. I thought I was mad, seriously. I never believed in the existence of supernatural beings. That's why I never dared to tell anyone, lest they think me mad. But I had to leave something behind, for Sarah, in case it were all true, and I never came back."

"Richard allowed me to pack a few things from home, and after that I shifted into his mansion. I just lived there, doing mundane tasks, but he never again mentioned the secret he was supposed to tell me, until two nights ago." Caroline closed her eyes.

"It was terrifying. One moment he was a human, then he started to wraith, and the next, he was a huge grey wolf with red eyes. I….I thought it was a trick, some high technology thing……..but..no. The wolf….he leapt at me……I was terrified….I thought after all these while, I'm finally going to die, just like that, as his next meal. But no. He gave me a huge slobbering lick, and bit me every so gently on my wrist. It was a small cut. It didn't hurt, but I suddenly felt weak, so weak. I think he changed back to human, because the next thing I knew, I was being carried and tossed out of the boundaries, and into the nearby forested area. The last I heard was a maniacal laughter, then I knew I was alone."

"I couldn't stay long out in the open, if I was to survive. The forest had all sorts of wild beasts. I had heard them howling just a few days ago. So I made my way, the best I knew how, dizziness and all, towards the sound of the road. It was there I collapsed, and where Alice found me."

Everyone was held spellbound by her story. But wait, things didn't make sense. "Why could Alice see you, if you were associated with werewolves? And how come Richard could change if it was not a full moon night? The full moon was last night, not two nights ago." I questioned, puzzled. And how were we involved in these? It doesn't make any sense at all…..

Suddenly, I felt everyone froze, tensed and alert. I lifted my nose and sniffed. There it was again, the weird smell from the warehouse. I glanced at Edward, who looked absolutely murderous.

"Brilliant! Brillant story!" A loud boisterous filled the room, the sound of a single pair of hands clapping. Everyone turned to the door, and in walked a dark and extremely handsome man. A man who looked remarkably like Peter Worthington.

"You." Edward spat. "Richard Worthington. Why are you destroying my family!" He growled.

***

Completed on 5 February 2009

©kellentia

AN: I was just thinking, actually Christian Bale might make a good Edward, what do u guys think? And for Bella I was thinking of Anne Hathaway. But in any case, Christian Bale reminds me of the actor who played Carlise Cullen in the movie..........u think?


	10. Chapter 8: Showdown

Daybreak

Chapter 8: Showdown

"Edward Anthony Mason, Isabella Swan, Jasper Whitlock, Emmett McCarty, Rosalie Hale, Mary Alice Brandon…" He lingered over Alice for a while, smiling when Alice gasped, her eyes showing a glint of recognition of who he was. "And, my beloved Renesmee Carlie Cullen."

Everyone growled at the way he talked about my daughter.

"My my, even Jacob Black of the Quilete tribe is here. What a wonderful family reunion! And my dear Caroline and Sarah. Thank you so much in helping me accomplish my task." Richard sang. "Of course, I can't leave out the wonderful hosts Tanya, Kate and Garrett. Yes yes, I know all about you. I know everything about you."

"No!" Edward must have heard something nasty in his thoughts, and lunged to attack the man, but before he could do anything, a pack of 10 huge grey werewolves leapt through the walls of the house, windows, and surrounded us.

If I could, I would have turned pale. We were barely evenly matched, not counting Carlise, Esme and Renesmee as fighting experts.

"What do you want?" I hissed, my hackles rising, leaning into a crouch, as all of us were.

Richard Worthington only smiled smugly as I glared at him with unblinking eyes.

"You." Alice slowly stepped forward. "I know you."

"Remember me, my child?" Worthington looked at her almost fondly.

Alice pulled back her lips and snarled ferociously at him. "Not from my human memories, thanks to you." She eyed him carefully. "You were known as Alexander Grangefield, and you were the one who recommended my parents to send me to a mental assylm."

"Very good." Worthington applauded heartily. He seemed so relaxed and at ease.

"Why!" Alice growled.

Worthington looked regretful. "Because of your talents, my dear. You had special abilities that the human race couldn't appreciate. But I did. I meant to take you from the asylum once things were more settled, but it seems that someone beat me to that. After you became a vampire, there was no more use of you."

"So what do you want from us now!" Alice snapped.

"My dear Mary, it was never about you." Worthington turned to Edward, who was obviously struggling to keep his rage in control. "You have something that I need, and I want. And yes, all these, everything, is all about Renesmee."

***********************************

All about me?? I blinked, uncomprehending.

"Never in the rest of your existence, which would not be long from now." Edward said between clenched teeth.

"Oh, I wouldn't' be so sure about that, if I were you. Our werewolf venom is much more potent then your vampire venom. Look at the odds." Worthington replied rather pleasantly. "I think we do have time for a little story….my marvelous plan actually. Peter," he called out. Peter Worthington, as large as life, slinked out from behind the shadows of the door. He looked petrified. It must be new to him. And, why didn't I notice his scent before?? It must be all these new werewolf scents around…..

"Peter, this is part of your heritage, so you must listen carefully." Worthington started. "I, well, we come from a long line of werewolves all the way back to the dawn of time. There used to be more of us, but as time passed, it became such that the gene only passes down from father to son. Once. Then there was the time when we were hunted down by you vampires." For the first time, a hint of a malicious glint entered his eyes. But quick as it came, it vanished again. "Which further reduced our numbers. Since then, my forefathers took great pains never to disclose our true identity. It was a secret that was only kept between father and son. Not even our mothers know about it."

"My grandfather in particular, was very obsessed about the idea of immortality. We are long-lived, having a life span of about 100-150 years, but he wanted more. He never wanted to die. So he was the first who pioneered the research on immortality. Unfortunately, he passed away before he found anything substantial. My father took over the research, as he wanted more power. He was not content to turn into a wolf only once a month. He wanted the power that this ability could give. But he too, did not manage to find the key to immortality."

"It was only until my turn, when the break through came. My father taught me all his secrets, how to make use of my shape shifting to my benefit. I made the most money, finally obtained the most power and influence in the natural realm, and finally I found the secret. The key to my immortality and power is in the blood of a vampire half breed."

My mom instinctively pushed me behind her, not that it would help. Finally everyone understood what was happening.

"Just as I discovered this, I wasn't too sure if such creatures exist. But I heard about the Volturi confrontation….yes, I know about everything and anything under the sun, anything not under the sun as well. I rushed to South American, to capture one half breed to test my hypothesis, and it worked. But the blood of 1 half breed is not enough. There is still my brothers to think about. Its time for the werewolves to return and rule the world! Why should we hide our existence, as if it's something to be shameful of."

_Good gracious, this man maniacal! His completely intoxicated with power!_ I thought, fearing a little

"I managed to find 2 other unprotected half breeds in South America, but it is still not enough. The only other available one is Renesmee Cullen here. But at that time, I was alone. Remember, the only other werewolf I knew was my father. So I decided to make and create new ones. All I had to do was bite a human man in a strategic spot, and voila, a new werewolf was created. Now, I had the resources to keep this secret."

"But if its so easy to create werewolves, why didn't you guys create more before then take over the world?" Alice piped up.

"Because we can only turn once a month, you stupid! That isn't going to work very well. It means we only have power that one day." Worthington snapped angrily, annoyed at his story telling interrupted.

"It was so easy to lure you here." Worthington's anger vanished quickly, as he resumed his story. "It was I who directed the job offer to Carlise. It was I who arrange Jasper's accident. It was I who thought of attacking Renee and Charlie to lure Edward and Bella away. It was I who poisoned Esme with werewolf venom. It was too, I, who made use of Caroline to let me come here undetected." He boasted proudly, glorying in his own genius.

"Right, now story over. Peter, its time for your first kill. As my son, I allow you to have the honour of taking the first blood. Renesmee Cullen, any last words?" Worthington said off handedly.

"No!" Edward growled and flung himself at Worthington, only to be thwarted by another werewolf who restrained him easily.

"Edward!" Bella yelled, panicking at the thought of Edward getting injured. She posed to join but was held back by Emmett. "Wait, we need to protect Nessie."

"There is no point really. You are all out matched. Werewolves were never meant to fight in packs, so one of us can easily deal with a few of you." Worthington shrugged and turned back to his son. "Your genes should have just activated, you having just turned 18. All you need to do is concentrate on the moon, and instinct will soon take over."

Peter gulped, and rubbed his sweaty palms together. He closed his eyes.

Minutes passed. Nothing happened. Worthington frowned. "Why aren't you morphing?" he muttered, looking his son up and down.

"Because he has a son." Sarah's clear voice suddenly rang out.

Worthington's head whipped up, his eyes gleaming ferociously at the speaker. He went white with anger. "Say. That. Again."

"Because he made a girl pregnant so she's carrying his son." Sarah repeated calmly.

"YOU STUPID FOOL!" He turned furiously to his son and slapped him sharply. Peter's eyes widened in fear, as 4 red marks appeared on his cheeks. "WHAT DID MR BRISCO KEEP TELLING YOU!!!"

"It wasn't my fault! She offered herself to me…" Peter babbled, confused. "What's wrong?"

"WHAT"S WRONG? WHAT"S WRONG! You come and ask me what's WRONG!" Worthington hollered. "Stupid boy! I chose your mother carefully to ensure that you'll have the best genes. I made sure you had the best care, best education, best food, so that you can be my right hand man one day. And you choose to pass your gene to some slutty whore??? When did you make her pregnant? Before or after your birthday?"

Peter was too scared to reply.

"Before." Sarah volunteered.

"Shut up, you b***h. Nobody asked you." He cursed angrily at his daughter.

"Fool! The gene is gone, that means." As quick as he blew up, he cooled down, almost resigned.

"Means?" Peter squeaked.

"You'll never be a werewolf. If you have a son before you do you first morph, the latent gene will pass straight through you and to the newborn baby, which means…..holy crap, she'll have a freak as a baby!" Worthington stared as his son grimly. "Then I have no more use for you. Who is the girl?"

Peter was silent.

"I asked you a question, boy. Who is the girl?" Worthington repeated, his voice getting dangerously high.

"Yes. You are correct" Edward said to Peter, from the corner of the room.

"What!" Worthington turned, and looked back and forth at them. He never liked being out of the loop.

"So is this it dad? You never appear in my entire life, and now you drag me into this WITHOUT my consent, and because I turned out useless, you're going to kill me because I know too much, is that it?" Peter said bitterly.

"Fond attachments, emotions and passions are useless, and hence meaningless." Worthington said pompously. "See what trouble these 'family ties' has gotten them into. No, only power and money will last."

"So who is the girl, and where is your son. Don't worry, we will provide and care for him adequately. He will take your place when he comes of age." Worthington continued.

"No." Peter said surprisingly. "I will not let my son come under your care. If I die, so be it. My life was never much fun or meaningful anyway. No, I want my son to learn what it is to be really loved, to have as normal a family as he can have. I want him to have what I was too poor to have, all because you wanted to make use of me. He'll never be made used of by you." He spat at his father's feet.

"What a pity. It doesn't matter you know, I can always extract information from the others. I'm sure they know a lot." Worthington shrugged his shoulders again.

"No please," He turned to the others pleadingly. "I know I have been a jerk and bastard, but please, one favour. Don't let them harm another innocent child."

But before anyone else could say anything, Worthington had snapped his fingers and another werewolf leap, taking Peter down with him easily, snapping his neck as easily as if it were a twig.

I gasped, and leaned on Jacob for support. _No, this wasn't supposed to be. The ending of my family wasn't supposed to be like that, not dying for me, giving up their lives for me. I can't bear that. Its all because of me. If its like that, if I were to give myself up as a sacrifice for their peace and happiness, it would be worth it. Really. I had 13 wonderful and happy years. Its enough. I just regret not spending the last few months of my life with my Jacob. But he will get over it. He is strong_.

"If I volunteer myself, will you let my family go?" I spoke up bravely. I could hear the snarls and hisses in protest.

"Of course, its only you I want. I only fight them because they are withholding you from me." Worthington replied.

"No, Renesmee, please." My father looked anguished.

"Please Daddy, I can't let you all be hurt because of me. There's no way out." It was true. It would be easier if we didn't put up a fight. Less casualties.

"Smart girl." Worthington nodded approvingly.

"Wait, I have an offer to make." Jacob suddenly said.

I looked at him, wondering what he had up his sleeve.

"Renesmee is my betrothed." He announced. "On her behalf, I would like to challenge you to a duel, only between you and me. If I win, you cannot hurt or kill any of us, especially Renesmee."

"And if you loose? No, its either I take her by force or willingly. I will win either way. There's no point for this dual." Worthington said.

"And if I loose, my pack and I will agree to serve and work under you, to help you take over the world." Jacob continued. "You will need smart, capable, and united servants. And we will do a blood oath, as known among the wolves, to ensure that the agreement would follow through. Any betrayal by any party will result in immediate death by the oath."

Worthington paused. He was beginning to like this offer.

"Done." He suddenly said. "Let this agreement be."

***

Completed on 8 March 2009

©kellentia

Thanks to those for reviewing! Reviews are really encouraging and motivation :P


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